Onward Ho!

The weekend seemed to slip on by at warp speed. You start to work on something, concentration takes hold and all of sudden, five hours (or more) has ticked away. The same thing happens with a good book and that too added to the speedy demise of my weekend with all of its grand plans!

First up, credit is due for the beautiful images in the previous inspiration post.

A: The Dressmaker's Handbook of Couture Sewing Techniques by Lynda Maynard.

This books has so much wow factor I don't know where to start. Actually I do. She has me all excited about binding! Very approachable, very doable and all in layman's terms. I would list this book easily in my top 100 ever. I like it that much.

B: Selvedge is a magazine new to me from the UK. It has fiber arts in many many forms. I couldn't pick a favorite from the issue, they were all fantastic. Painted sacred cows, dogs in lovely sweater gear, a beautiful layout of a blanket designer/ weaver, quilts and on it goes. To boot this was an early birthday gift from a very generous lady. I never would have known about it.

So Saturday was spent not so much being inspired as ignited. I finished my second Yoked Blouse run through and am so very pleased with the results.

It was worth going back for another try. This is easily a top "go to pattern" for a tailored blouse. Changes for edition 2: Smaller rounded collar, band cuffs instead of turn back cuffs.

This version has better sleeve set and the yoke technique for having it nicely finished inside and out worked liked a charm.

Kathleen Cheetham did indeed e-mail back and provided some much needed clarification. That's impressive.

Sharon commented on the color I was using. It wouldn't have been my first choice either but I had scads of this beautiful shirting in my stash and it was a dream to work with.

Sunday I kind of got lost in France reading Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia

Fraser. An excellent read. Of course I was simultaneously watching the Pro Bowl football game and wondering why I bother with it. They are always just awful. The gem in that was hearing Bill Belichick speak three or four sentences. Football fans you likely know what I mean.

I managed to count out what I had measured on the silk warp so far, put a counting string on there and promptly forgot what the count was. Should have written it down, or maybe I did and forgot where....

Parting Shot: Say Cheese!

The Meaning of Customer Service

All to often it seems that customer service is a thing of the distant past. Oh yes, everyone uses it in advertising but rarely is it dispensed. Most times a customer service complaint can be answered easily. With just a little give and take, most of us would leave the exchange feeling satisfied. Now I don't spend a lot of time complaining about things on this blog, unless of course, it's my own stuff and that isn't going to change one bit, but I am going to send out a cyber pat on the back to two companies, one small and one large that still know the meaning and PRACTICE of customer service.

The first company is Nylabone. Those of you with dogs probably know them and they make a wide range of great dog toys and chews. I happened to buy a new to me chew toy that was advertised for aggressive chewers, of which I have many. It lasted maybe 15 minutes before the seam gave way on this hard bone and it had to be relegated to the trash. After Christmas I wrote a little e-mail off to Nylabone about my experience with this particular item. Mostly because not everyone watches toys as closely as I do and well the company should know. Low and behold, within 24 hours I got a response, a very nice response too and there was both good follow-up and feedback. My faith in Nylabone remains.

The second company is a small one, Petite Plus Patterns. I purchased a pattern (one of many from this company that I have plus a great book),

and found it to be a little faint in the printing. Not only did I get a fast reply to my query, but I got it from the owner/designer of the company Kathleen Cheetham herself. We had a wonderful few exchanges too. Ms.Cheetham owns a loom and would like someday to get back to weaving. Selfish as I am, I hope she has a number of creative and productive years designing more patterns, because they are FANTASTIC and you will get support with them. I didn't just get good customer service I got great customer service.

So there, if you need dog toys or great clothing patterns you know where to go!

Both companies were a joy to deal with.

Parting Shot: I'm so Pretty and Witty and Wise!